The ability to adjust the configuration of a piece of furniture to correspond to the unique physical stature and/or personal preferences of an individual provides a mechanism for increasing the comfort, physical well-being (e.g., posture, spinal health, etc.), and in the case of office furniture, on-the-job productivity and satisfaction of the individual. Office and task chairs of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,163 to Rogers, III et al. can be operated to adjust various chair settings (e.g., tilt, depth, height). However, while the adjustment mechanisms are electrically powered, the user still retains full responsibility for activating the adjustment mechanisms and for regulating the degree of adjustments made. An automatic adjustment mechanism capable of both sensing and delivering a particular degree of adjustment desirable for and/or desired by an individual without requiring the individual's supervision would be clearly advantageous.
Adjustment mechanisms for adjustable furniture may be based on non-automated mechanical systems powered completely by a user (e.g., by using levers or knobs to adjust tilt, height, etc. of a chair), or on automated systems powered by cordless power sources. The latter type is greatly preferred from the standpoint of user convenience and satisfaction.
Typically, sources of cordless power suitable for indoor applications have been limited primarily to conventional batteries. However, inasmuch as the reactants in a battery are stored internally, the batteries must be replaced or recharged once their reactants have been depleted. An alternative power source that would not require replacement or recharging, which is suitable for use in indoor environments, and which does not require connection or access to electrical outlets or lighting (either direct or indirect) would be advantageously employed in combination with electrically powered office furniture.